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Identification: Upperside of
forewing is dark on the basal half and lighter on
the outer half, with a distinct orange-brown patch
at the end of the cell. Male has a costal fold
containing yellow scent scales; female has a patch
of scent scales on the 7th abdominal segment.
Life history: Males perch in open areas on low
shrubs to wait for females. Eggs are deposited
singly on the host plant. Fully-grown caterpillars
from the second brood hibernate.
Flight: Two broods from late April to early June and
from July to August.
Wing span: 1 3/8 - 1 5/8 inches (3/5 - 4.1 cm).
Caterpillar hosts: Usually wild indigo (Baptisia
tinctoria), but also others including wild blue
indigo (B. australis), lupine (Lupinus perennis),
false lupine (Thermopsis villosa), and crown
vetch (Coronilla varia).
Adult food: Nectar from flowers of blackberry, white
sweet clover, dogbane, sunflower, crimson clover,
and probably others.
Habitat: Open woods and barrens for native hosts.
Highways, railroad beds, and upland fields for the
introduced crown vetch.
Range: Southern New England and southern Ontario
west to central Nebraska; south to Georgia, the Gulf
Coast, and southcentral Texas. The Wild Indigo
duskywing is rapidly expanding its range and
abundance by colonizing plantings of crown vetch
along roadways and railroad beds. Comments: The
Columbine, Wild Indigo, and Persius dusky wings
belong to the "Persius complex," a confusing group
of very similar butterflies.
NatureServe Global Status: G5 - Demonstrably secure
globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of
its range, especially at the periphery.
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